


The One Where Merlin Has a Knot

by hms_seth



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Canon Compliant, It's not actually a knotting fic but Merlin has a knot, Knotting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-06
Updated: 2012-09-06
Packaged: 2017-11-13 16:38:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/505556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hms_seth/pseuds/hms_seth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin was five years old when he first started to take notice of the strange bulge at the base of his penis. As he got older, he came to understand that the bulge was called a knot, and that every male person of magic had one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One Where Merlin Has a Knot

**Author's Note:**

> For everyone who ever thought that Merlin deserves a knot sometimes.
> 
> Thanks to the fabulous scotscookie for the beta. [Also on LJ](http://hms-seth.livejournal.com/9001.html).

Merlin was five years old when he first started to take notice of the strange bulge at the base of his penis.

“What is it?” he asked his mother.

“Nothing to worry about, my darling boy,” she told him. “It’s just part of what makes you special.”

“I thought my magic was what made me special,” Merlin said.

Hunith smiled sadly. “It’s connected to your magic. And like your magic, you must never tell anyone about it.”

Merlin shrugged. He’d been able to move objects since before he could talk, so it was easy enough to accept that the bulge was connected.

“I won’t,” he promised his mother.

-

As he got older, Merlin came to understand that the bulge was called a knot, and that every male person of magic had one. Apparently, females with magic also had something that made them identifiable, but given that Merlin had never seen a girl (magic or otherwise) without clothes on, he wasn’t exactly sure what it was.

He wasn’t allowed to go to the river with the other boys in the village, no matter how much Will, his best friend, pleaded with him. Hunith was afraid that in their roughhousing, they would discover his knot and realise what he truly was.

It wasn’t that magic was banned in Ealdor—it wasn’t, but their King, Cenred, was a greedy, cruel man. Any magic users in the kingdom were forced to serve under his flag, or face the consequences. Death was usually the kindest of them all.

Of course that meant Merlin couldn’t have sex, or even fool around. And while the other boys in the village had had at least one tumble in the hay—as every true village boy ought to—Merlin was left with tentative touches in the night, trying to find some sort of relief.

He could take his pleasure, but he was always left wanting...more. His knot would swell as he moved his hand over his cock, and while he could still come, Merlin wanted nothing more than to fuck something with his knot, or at least have someone else touch it.

He got his wish when he was almost eighteen. Just as his mother had told him _not_ to, he and Will were horsing around in the barn—tackling each other, pinning each other down, wrestling about—when Will’s hand accidentally snagged Merlin’s breeches.

Merlin let out a shout of alarm and fought to pull them back up, but Will was laughing, thinking it was a game and refusing to let Merlin do so.

“Will, stop it!” Merlin shouted, but Will kept laughing until his hand somehow found its way to Merlin’s cock.

Both boys froze.

Merlin recovered first—he scrambled away from Will, yanking his breeches back up. He turned to face his friend, whose eyes were wide in surprise. His gaze immediately fell to Merlin’s crotch, and Merlin flushed and placed his hands over the area, even though he knew the knot wasn’t in sight.

“Please,” Merlin said, his voice low, “Don’t tell anyone. Please.”

Will got to his feet slowly. The look of surprise had change to one of intrigue. “I won’t tell,” he said, approaching Merlin slowly. “Come on, Merlin, we’re best friends. I wouldn’t.”

Merlin nodded, but he still took a step back in response. Will paused in his movements, clearly hesitant and obviously hurt by the action. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, “That you have...you know,” his voice lowered, “ _Magic_.”

Merlin flinched. “Mother didn’t want anyone to know,” he said.

“Well, she has a point,” Will relented. “After all, Cenred...” he trailed off, and Merlin knew he was remembering his father, who had died in the service of the King.

The touch of Will’s hand through his breeches tore Merlin out of his thoughts, and he very nearly jumped in surprise. He hadn’t even realised his own hands had fallen away.

“Will?” He asked, tone cautious.

“Can I see it again?” Will nearly whispered.

Merlin forgot to breathe.

-

Will’s hand stroked Merlin’s cock slowly, swiping at the slit. The slick of pre-come made it that much smoother.

Merlin gasped at the sensation, leaning back against the wall as Will’s hand movements grew more confident. It was still awkward, naturally; the angle was different from what Merlin was used to, but it still felt nice—wonderful, even.

All too soon, he was coming, and it wasn’t long at all after he had recovered from his orgasm that he fumbled with the laces on Will’s own breeches, returning the favour without hesitation.

He went home that night feeling more content than he had in a long time. Finally, someone knew about his knot; about his magic. And Will hadn’t even been scared—he had...

Merlin couldn’t help but hope that maybe soon he would finally get to knot someone.

It didn’t happen.

-

“Merlin, how could you?” Hunith asked him the next morning. Merlin had accidentally let it slip, about Will knowing, and while Hunith’s tone was scolding, there was also an edge of panic to it. “You promised you would never tell anyone!”

“But it’s just Will!” Merlin said, not for the first time. “He’s my best friend. He’d never tell!”

“I know he wouldn’t do it on _purpose_ ,” Hunith said. “But if he ever said anything, even if he didn’t mean to...”

“He wouldn’t!” Merlin persisted.

But Hunith was shaking her head. “Merlin, no. I _told_ you not to tell anyone, and you did anyway. It’s not safe for you here anymore.”

“Mother!”

“ _Don’t_ argue with me, young man. This is serious. If Cenred ever found out...” she bit her lip. “Go, do your chores. I have to think about this.”

-

As the days passed, Merlin could see his mother grow more and more nervous. As he watched her, kneading dough and seeing the thoughts chase across her face, he began to understand that she was frightened. She was afraid that someone would come to take him away in the night.

Merlin knew that reminding her he could easily fight someone off with his magic would not ease her worries.

Eventually, after almost a week, she sat down with him. “I think it would be best if you go to Camelot.”

“King Uther’s kingdom?” That was all Merlin knew about the lands that bordered Essetir.

“Yes. My brother—your uncle—lives there. He won’t mind if you stay with him. I’ll send word ahead, and I’ll write him a letter for you to give him.”

If he hadn’t seen his mother nearly crying herself to sleep every night, Merlin would have wanted to fight it. As it was, he still wanted to. He hadn’t even known he had an uncle, and even that knowledge, coupled with his mother’s worry, wasn’t enough to make him want to uproot his entire life.

But he knew he would have to, no matter how much he fought it.

“You will tell Will goodbye for me, won’t you?”

His mother pressed a kiss to his head. “Of course, my darling boy.”

-

By the time Merlin arrived in Camelot, he found he wasn’t quite as resistant to the idea as he had first been. The city was very different from Ealdor. The castle was amazing, but there were far more people than he was used to. Everything seemed bigger, and the air didn’t smell of grass, or like much of anything to be found back home. Merlin found himself somewhat in awe over it all, if not a bit intimidated.

Until he learned magic was banned.

Still, Gaius—his uncle, though Merlin found it hard to think of him like that—was the Court Physician, and he was more than happy to take Merlin in and keep him safe. In turn, Merlin assisted him when needed, from minor chores to mixing ingredients. It wasn’t exactly thrilling work, but it was easy enough, and Merlin didn’t mind helping.

Really, all Merlin had to do was keep his head down and his knot out of sight, and everything was fine.

And then he met Arthur, Prince of Camelot.


End file.
